A Quick Guide To Star Wars: The Acolyte's High Republic Setting

The latest chapter in the ongoing "Star Wars" saga is upon us in the form of "The Acolyte." The new live-action series hails from Leslye Headland ("Russian Doll") and has been in the works for some time. The show will not only be centering on new characters in a galaxy far, far away, but will be taking us to a largely unexplored era in the larger "Star Wars" timeline: The High Republic.

Disney and Lucasfilm recently released the first trailer for "The Acolyte," which is full of Jedis and drenched in darkness. But as fans will surely note, there are lots of Jedi here, something we haven't seen as much on-screen since the prequels. That's because the High Republic takes place hundreds of years before the events of the original films. However, this show has the interesting distinction of taking place at the very end of the High Republic era, roughly 100 years before the events of the prequel trilogy. To help provide a bit of context, the official synopsis for the show reads as follows:

An investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems...

So, what is the High Republic, exactly? Is there anything that fans need to know before watching this show since we're coming in at the tail end of the era in question? While one could fall down a near-bottomless rabbit hole here, we're going to go over the need-to-know basics of the High Republic and offer some suggestions for those who want to dive deeper before the show arrives this summer.

The High Republic started as a major publishing initiative cooked up by Lucasfilm. The company treated it as seriously as a new movie in the franchise, enlisting the help of many influential "Star Wars" authors to put the whole thing together. In an announcement trailer for the High Republic that debuted in 2020, the era is explained broadly with the following text:

"Hundreds of years before the Skywalker saga, the Galactic Republic is at its height, protected by the Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy."

There are currently three different phases of the High Republic that have been published by Lucasfilm, with "Quest of the Jedi" diving the furthest back in the timeline, roughly 350 years before the events of the original films. "Light of the Jedi" kicked the whole thing off, taking place around 200 years before the events of the original trilogy. "Trials of the Jedi" falls roughly in this same timeline, give or take.

It is described as a "golden age" where there is, generally, much more peace in the galaxy. Naturally, threats emerge, with the Drengir and the Nihil serving that purpose in the first phase of High Republic storytelling. This all sprang from a simple question: What scares the Jedi? Even though we're dealing with a different threat, that question still feels prevalent in what we've seen from "The Acolyte."

This all goes back to "A New Hope," when Obi-Wan Kenobi said, "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the Empire." Lucasfilm went all-in on the initiative, bringing in concept artists and visual teams to bring this publishing initiative to life, not unlike the early stages of planning a blockbuster movie. Ian McKay, who designed Darth Maul for George Lucas, was even involved.

These are the basics of the era without getting into the many characters at the center of the novels and comics that make up the High Republic (that would be another rabbit hole entirely). Broadly, it's important to understand that this was a time when the Jedi were at the height of their power, taking place hundreds of years before the majority of the explored on-screen "Star Wars" history takes place. 

Want to dig even deeper? Here's what you'll need.

Lucasfilm went hard on the High Republic, which currently spans three different phases: "Quest of the Jedi," "Light of the Jedi," and "Trials of the Jedi." Chronologically, "Quest" comes first but "Light" was the first phase published. For those looking to start out, it would be best to dive into the Phase I books. I put together a High Republic reading order guide a while back which walks you through everything in the first phase. That said, if you want to stick to the core novels, that would include:

• "Light of the Jedi"

• "The Rising Storm"

• "The Fallen Star"

That covers Phase I and it's pretty easy to sort out the core novels from the other books in each phase once you have the basics down. The books are, admittedly, spread out across different mediums, aimed at different age groups, and through different publishers. It's a lot for the casual fan to wade into and runs the risk of being overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be. The official "Star Wars" website even put out a comprehensive reading guide for all the phases, which you can find here.

"The Acolyte" premieres June 5, 2024, on Disney+.